Improved counterpoise gun-carriage



7' L/ZZZ /J may Inventor Witnesses www# waited gratta J.. G. FOSTER, OFNASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

Letters Patent No. 92,597, dated July 13, 1869.

IMPROVED COUNTERPOISE GUN-CARRIAGE.

The Schedule referred to in these Lettera Patent and making part of thesame.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, J. G. FOSTER, of Nashua,in the county of Hillsborough, and State of New Hampshire, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Counterpoise Gun-Carriages; and ldo hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompan yin g drawings,making part of this specitication, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon, like letters indicating like parts wherever they occur.

To enable others skilled in the art to construct'and rlse my invention,I will proceed to describe it.

My invention relates to eountcrpoise gun-carriages; and

The invention consists in so constructing andarrlnrging the carriagesthat they shall turn on a centre pintle, which pintle, with the gurl andits carriage, shall be depressed by the recoil of thc gun whendischarged, the gun moving in the arc of a circle, and being socounterbalanced by weights below that it shall automatically rise intoposition for being fired. as hereinafter more fully explained.

1n the drawings- Figure 1 is a perspective view;

Figure 2, a side elevation;

Figure 3, a top plan view; and

Figures 4 and 5, elevations of the weights and lixtures below.

The apparatus consists of a circular track, R, secured firmly in place,and having mounted thereon a traverse-carriage, A, made in any suitablerrrarrrrer, but having its cheeks so made that their upper edges shallform an arc of a circle, as represented in figs. l and 2, the arc beingdescribed from the centres of tl e ends of a cross-rod, l, located nearthe bottom, and about one-third of the length of the carriage from thefront end thereof, this traverse-carriage being providederith wheels, torun on the track, and being secured to the track, also, by strongclamps, T, at front and rear, which clamps engage under a projectingflange made on the track forthat purpose, as shown in ii gs. 1 and 2.

To this traverse-carriage, the gun-carriage C, which may be of theordinary construction, is connected by two parallel arrrrs or rods, I,on cach side, these arms being pivoted, at their upper ends, on twoaxles, N, passing transversely throrrglr the lower' part of theguncar'r'iage C, while their' lower ends are similarly pivoted on tworods, l and l', passing transversely through the lower part of thetravor-'se-carriage A, the parallel arms I being shown by dotted linesin iig. 2, and partially shown in perspective in fig. 1.

A chassis, B, is placed within thc traverse-curriagc, between the armsI, and under the gun-carriage C, as represented in figs. 1 and 2, thischassis consisting of two strong rails, made deepest at their centre,and tapering gradually toward each end.

This chassis is pivotcd and supported, at its centre, upon a strongvertical shaft, D, which passes through a pintle-block, J, at the centreof the track It, and exvtends down into a casemate below, if on a fort,or

into a well provided for the purpose, if in carthworks.

At its lower end, this shaft D rests and turns in a step or bearing, V,which latter works freely between vertical guides U, as represented infigs. 4 and 5.

This step V is connected, by strong cords m, which pass up over pulleysH, mounted in suitable bearings above it, to weights W, as representedin fig. 4, these weights being sufficiently heavy to counterbalance thegun and its carriage, with the chassis and its shaft D.

It will thus be seen that thc gun and its carriage, instead of restingon and being supported by the travorso-carriage, rest upon the chassisB, and, with the chassis, are supported by the counterpoise shaft D,which, in turn, is supported by the weights W.

The chassis is so connected to the shaft D as to inoline forward justenough to permit the gun to run easily rrto battery, or position fortiring.

Upon the axles N, of the gun-carriage C, are placed flanged wheels h,which rest'and traverse on the chassis andthe reara xleN protrudcs, ateach side, through and beyond the e. 'leks of the carriage C, and hassecured on its outer ends another pair of flanged wheels, G, which restlightly on the curved edges of the traverse-carriage A, as shown ings.-1 and 2. k

If desired, the front axle N may have its ends also protrude beyond thecheeksof the gun-carriage, and work in curved grooves, fornred by curvedribs or bars, secured to'the inner sides of the cheeks of thetraverste-carriage, the curved bars or ribs being indicated by P infigs. 1 and 2, though this latter arrangement I do not considerabsolutely necessary.

The arms I, where they are connected to the axles N of the gun-carriage,are slotted, so as to allow of a little play of the axles; and the rodsl and l', to which their lower ends are connect-ed, are mounted insliding boxes, which are held down by a strong rubber spring, n, asshown in iig. 2, the object being to assist in preventing or absorbingany shock caused by the gun as it runs into battery. Forthe samepurpose, rubber'l springs or buffers, a., are secured to thetraverse-carriage A, as shown in fig. 2, there being alsosimilarbuil'ers, b, at the rear, to check the gun, andprevent a suddenshock, as it is thrown back by the recoil.

A heavy rubber cushion, E, is also placed around the shaft D, directlyunder the chassis, which cushion also assists to t bsorb the shock whenthe gun is forced down by the recoil, the cushion being compressedbetween tlre cross-bar or plate of the chassis and of thetraverse-carriage below.

To the rear end of the chassis is secured a strong vertical bar, F,having ratchet-teeth on it, as represented in tigs. 1 and 2; and to thetraverso-carriage is pivot-ed a spring-pawl, o, which engages with theteeth of the ratchet as the chassis is depressed, and holds it downuntil released.

The pawl o is connected to and operated by a lever, L, which also has anarm, r, extending downward, and connecting with a sliding rod, O, whichworks in snitable bearings, and has, at its front end, a brake-block,which bears against the counterpoise-shaft D, and thus serves toregulate the motion of the shaft as it rises, and, eonsequently,'themotion of the gnu as it runs into battery.

Instead of a shore bearing against the shaft, a band passing around itmay be used for a brake and it may be connected with the leverthatoperatcs the pawl, or with a separate one7 may be preferred,

As a l'nrther means of controlling and regulating the movements of thegun, I also make the counterbalance of a series of weights, so connectedand arranged, that as the gun recoils, the weights, instead oi' allbeing moved at once, will be taken up successively, oneI after another,as the gun recedes, the series ot' weights being connected by slottedbars e, as shown in iig. 4, or by any equivalent means. I also proposeto construct the arms I with .:ounterpoise-weights, u, at their lowerends, as represented in fig. 2, so that they will be balanced on therods l and l', whatever position they may assume.

In mounting the apparatus on a fort, the counterpoise will be placed ina casemate underneath, and may be so arranged as to leave room in frontof the guides U and shaft, to permit a case1nate-gun to be operatedthere.

It is obvious, that instead of having the weights arranged or located asrepresented, they may be placed at any desired point by simply carryingthe cords m ofi' to the desired position, and passing them overl pulleyssuitably located.

It is also obvious, that by a suitable system of gearing, the weightsmay be increased, and made to move through a correspondingly less space;or their weight may be decreased, and their travel increased, to suitthe circumstances oi' the location or place.

With the parts thus constructed, the operation is as follows:

The gun, being loaded, and in position, is tired; and, when tired, therecoil drives it backward ou the chassis; but, being held by the arms 1.as it moves back,

it is drawn down, forcing the chassis and shaft down with it, the gun,with its carriage, moving in the are of a circle, with its wheels G onthe circular or curved portion of the traverse-carriage, until theystrike the bnfers b, its descent being regulated by the brake,` ifdesired or necessary. As the gun is thus lowered by its recoil, it is insheltered position behind the parapet or breastwork, where it can bereloaded in safety; and, when loaded again, it is only necessary torelease the pawl o, when the gun rises, and moves forward into battery,ready to be fired again. It can be turned or traversed, as desired,eitherI when up or down, as may be necessary.

By these means, I construct a very simple, compact, and completeapparatus for working guns of any size.

Having thus described my invention,

1. The combination of the traverse-carriage A and the gun-carriage C,the two being connected by the parallel arms I, by which the gun is madeto rnove in the arc of a circle, substantially as and for the purposeset forth.

2. The counterpoise-shaft D, arranged to support the chassis B, andpassing through the centre of' lno tion of' the traversiug-carriage A,whereby the gun can be freely traversed in any direction, whether in orout ot' battery, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the chassis B, traversc-car riage A, andgun-on'riage C, with the parallel arms I, when arianged to operatesubstantially as herein described.

4. The combination of the chassis B, rotating shaft D, mounted in asliding step, V, and the counter-balance or weights \V, when constructedand arranged to operate substantially' as described.

5. So arranging" the counterbalance weights that they shall come intooperation, and be taken up, lsuccessively, substantially as and for thepurpose herein described.

6. The application of the brake O, ol' its equivalent, to theconnterpoise-shait D, for the purpose of regnlating the movementot thegun, as set forth.

J. G. FOSTER.

Witnesses:

H. B. MUNN, W. C. Donne.

